HD DVD firesale begins on eBay

eBay said today it expects to an increase in listings for HD DVD products following Toshiba's announcement yesterday that it is going to ditch its optical disc format.

"With a large variety of now defunct entertainment formats, including Betamax and Mini Disc being regularly traded and ultimately becoming collecters items, [we] expect to receive an increase in listings for HD DVD products," an eBay spokesman told Register Hardware.

Toshiba's announcement effectively marks the death of the format, since the electronics company was by far the largest - in some markets only - supplier of HD DVD hardware.

Many consumers who backed HD DVD will now be looking to offload their kit, possibly to fund the purchase of kit to play the winning HD format, Blu-ray Disc.

Looking at eBay, we found 2414 auctions for HD DVD movies, including a collection of six brand new, unopened discs which would normally sell for about £125, though had only notched up bids of £55 with seven minutes to go. The Ultimate Bourne Collection boxset was at £26.55 with 1 hour 49 minutes left (normal retail price £50), Transformers for £6 with 3 hours 51 minutes left (normal retail £25)... and so it goes on.

As for players, well, you can snap up some serious bargains among the growing number of machines on offer. The Toshiba HD-EP30, which normally retails for just over £200, can be yours for £135 plus two films. Read our review of the (not at all bad) HD-EP30 here.

Similarly, Toshiba's HD-E1 player, which normally retails for £450, is just £243 with four hours left. The multi-format Super BH-100 dual-format player from LG, when launched, would have cost you a thousand of your hard-earned pounds - but now it's £160.